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You are here: MacNN Forums > Community > MacNN Lounge > Why does Siri suck so bad - HomePod edition

Why does Siri suck so bad - HomePod edition
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turtle777
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Mar 3, 2018, 04:50 PM
 
Me: "Hey Siri, play Sting on HomePod".
Siri starts playing Sting on my iPhone.

Me: "Hey Siri, play Sting in Living Room".
Siri starts playing Sting on my iPhone.



I have no hope for Apple. This is ridiculous.

-t
     
mindwaves
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Mar 3, 2018, 08:57 PM
 
Besides this, do you like the HomePod?

Since Siri being the first assistant in 2012, it has greatly languished behind almost all competitors (maybe better than Cortana!) and it lags in supported devices. I really don't know what Apple is doing with Siri and Maps, and their desktop Mac line.
     
turtle777  (op)
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Mar 3, 2018, 09:46 PM
 
Music quality is pretty good. With iTunes Match subscription, HomePod plays music directly, w/o going through an iOS device, which is nice.

I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to keep it.

-t
     
ShortcutToMoncton
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Mar 10, 2018, 02:36 PM
 
What did you think? I still don’t understand why Siri is so much worse than Google or Alexa.

I’m not hearing great things about the actual usefulness of Siri and Homepod. But the Homekit integration would be nice - it’s the only automated system that seems reasonably secure at this point.
Mankind's only chance is to harness the power of stupid.
     
turtle777  (op)
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Mar 10, 2018, 03:44 PM
 
Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton View Post
What did you think? I still don’t understand why Siri is so much worse than Google or Alexa.
i thought the many months of HomePod delay was caused by Apple working on it [Siri, Homekit] and them fixing stuff.

Seems like they were not. WTF ?

-t
     
OAW
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Mar 12, 2018, 01:46 PM
 
"Hey Siri ... play Soulection radio."

This is a consistent fail. Made even more inexcusable since this is one of the premier Beats 1 radio stations in the Apple Music service. That being said the sound quality of the HomePod is incredible IMO. I'm very pleased with it from that standpoint. Siri though ....

OAW
     
subego
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Mar 12, 2018, 02:23 PM
 
Skynet thinks it’s all that right up until we bring it crashing down with our superior understanding of puns.
     
P
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Mar 12, 2018, 04:55 PM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
i thought the many months of HomePod delay was caused by Apple working on it [Siri, Homekit] and them fixing stuff.

Seems like they were not. WTF ?

-t
They were working on it, and it still isn’t done - AirPlay 2, which was supposed to ship with the HomePod, is still not out.

Siri I hope they’re working on all the time, because it is an online service and not something you download.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
turtle777  (op)
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Mar 12, 2018, 05:28 PM
 
Originally Posted by P View Post
Siri I hope they’re working on all the time, because it is an online service and not something you download.
Working on it for the past 7+ years.

Let me put it another way: Apple sucks at working at Siri.

-t
     
Laminar
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Mar 12, 2018, 05:43 PM
 
FTFF!!
     
mindwaves
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Mar 12, 2018, 08:05 PM
 
Siri is quite an abomination, except I hear it works well with Apple TV. I wouldn’t get a HomePod myself as I don’t really listen to music and my iPad Pro speakers work well enough and follow me everywhere. Apple needs to hire some google now or Alexa employees yesterday.
     
P
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Mar 13, 2018, 05:11 AM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
Working on it for the past 7+ years.

Let me put it another way: Apple sucks at working at Siri.
I don't disagree, but I wonder what the problem is. To their credit, Apple has added many languages to Siri, and their newest voices are quite good. For a company that is not always focused on the world outside the US, this is better than expected (in Swedish, I have full Siri support but I still lack typing suggestions on the keyboard. It seems to me that the typing suggestions should be easier to do).

I now own an Apple Watch (I had a birthday with a zero in it), and Siri is somewhat useful with it. I tell the watch when to set the alarm in the morning, and I ask it how long it would take to drive to work. Both of those things go faster than trying to do the same thing without Siri.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
turtle777  (op)
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Mar 13, 2018, 12:54 PM
 
I have to agree.

Siri’s support for non-English is much better than any of the other assistants. They excel in English, but are basically non-players in other languages.

Still, Apple is losing the battle in the public, English-speaking court of opinion. In the US, Siri is a joke compared to Google’s and Amazon’s voice assistants.

I don’t understand what the issue is. Can’t Apple just throw money at the problem ?

-t
     
mindwaves
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Mar 14, 2018, 08:55 AM
 
While at it, throw money in Apple Maps. The interface is great but devoid of information in so many places. A few years ago, I filed several complaints regarding a park. The park is quite big and usually parks are marked in green in normal maps, but this park was marked in green only in the green areas of the park (trees, lawn) whereas the other areas of the park (concrete soccer field, walking area) was marked in tan (or whatever color Apple uses to mark generic stuff). That made the park seem much smaller than what it actually was. I complained many times by sending Apple data and nothing. I check back every few months and nothing. And last week, I check again and it has finally been fixed! I’m note sure when it was fixed, but at least two years went by.

Back to Siri, it will lose the AI wars because it doesn’t work with door locks, fridges, microwaves, lights, like Alexa or google home does. Apple needs more third party integration for Siri to succeed.
     
turtle777  (op)
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Mar 15, 2018, 03:50 AM
 
John Gruber (Daring Fireball) shared a link to a great story on Apple’s team responsible for Siri development.

http://thein.fo/0df5bc9493ffba97

What a disaster.
It explains why Siri’s results are so inconsistent.

It sounds like Apple would have to can the existing platform to really fix Siri.
I feel bad for Apple. This is a rare instance of Apple utterly failing, but not willing to admit it, even after 7 years of losing ground.

-t
     
P
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Mar 15, 2018, 05:59 AM
 
Thank you for that link, this is very interesting.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
subego
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Mar 15, 2018, 02:51 PM
 
Amazon wants to be your digital pusher, Google wants to fleece your data. Their respective digital assistants are a direct means of accomplishing those goals.

Apple wants you to buy Apple hardware. The only way that happens directly with a digital assistant once the initial novelty has worn off is it needs to be a superior UI to what their hardware already has.

To accomplish this, the Siri team would need resources at least on par with the entire iOS team.
( Last edited by subego; Mar 15, 2018 at 11:30 PM. )
     
subego
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Mar 15, 2018, 08:15 PM
 
Though, if the people who wrote the article are such tech experts, what’s with the email paywall?

Like, I’m going to put my email there or something?
     
mindwaves
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Mar 15, 2018, 11:28 PM
 
Haha, yeah, I put in a fake email to read the article. Worked like a charm!
     
turtle777  (op)
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Mar 16, 2018, 05:46 AM
 
Originally Posted by mindwaves View Post
Haha, yeah, I put in a fake email to read the article. Worked like a charm!
Exactly. But subego is new at teh intarwebs, he hasn’t learned the oldest trick in the book

-t
     
Doc HM
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Mar 28, 2018, 10:44 AM
 
Just been listening to a radio show in the car testing all the current "smart" assistants. Oh dear lord is Siri stupid. Even at the current low bar it was so far adrift of the others it was embarrassing. The presenter couldn't even get it to stop playing a track.

If that's home pod, wake me up in 10 years. Maybe.
This space for Hire! Reasonable rates. Reach an audience of literally dozens!
     
ShortcutToMoncton
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Apr 3, 2018, 08:47 PM
 
Any other thoughts on HomePod?

I’m doing some basic smart home stuff and really would like to stick to HomeKit compatibly, which is kind of limiting. In theory it would be a good hub....
Mankind's only chance is to harness the power of stupid.
     
mindwaves
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Apr 4, 2018, 03:00 AM
 
     
subego
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Apr 10, 2018, 02:32 PM
 
subego: Hey Siri, never mind.

Siri: Yes, it is.
     
badidea
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Apr 20, 2018, 08:41 AM
 
Originally Posted by mindwaves View Post
Back to Siri, it will lose the AI wars because it doesn’t work with door locks, fridges, microwaves, lights, like Alexa or google home does. Apple needs more third party integration for Siri to succeed.
I am using Siri with my Philips Hue light system and it works like a charm! Why do you think it doesn't work?
***
     
OAW
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Apr 20, 2018, 12:10 PM
 
I use Siri to control my Koogeek smart lights, August smart door lock, and Ecobee smart thermostat. It works fine for that.

OAW
     
Chongo
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Apr 20, 2018, 02:19 PM
 
I use Siri to open the pod bay doors.
45/47
     
andi*pandi
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Apr 20, 2018, 02:56 PM
 
excellent.

She doesn't do knock knock jokes though.
     
mindwaves
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May 21, 2018, 09:07 PM
 
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/...wdc/630725002/

Supposedly Siri will get smarter. I think Apple recently hired a Google guy for Siri, but I doubt his knowledge has been used in this Siri as his hiring was too recent. I have my strong doubts whether Siri is actually smarter and works with Apple Maps better. I hope Apple Maps has an update too, as it is still vastly inferior to Google Maps in almost every single way.
     
subego
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May 21, 2018, 11:59 PM
 
Originally Posted by mindwaves View Post
I hope Apple Maps has an update too, as it is still vastly inferior to Google Maps in almost every single way.
A test suggested on Reddit. There’s one literally three blocks from where I am.



     
turtle777  (op)
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May 22, 2018, 02:11 PM
 
I wanna cry. Apple wants to create self-Driving cars, but can’t get simple shit straight. Honestly, I don’t think this would fly under Steve. It’s Tim that makes Apple be crazy like that.

-t
     
   
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